2022-06-22 21:43![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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the_zone
oshitari_yuushi in the_zoneWho: Sanada and Oshitari
When: One night, just before the missions
Where: B2-04, their shared room
What: Sanada does some light nighttime stretches. Yuushi's sanity is also stretched.
Oshitari Yuushi was a man on a mission. Well, one besides the colonising and base-building mission they collectively had, of course. He had to finish the last few thousand words of his current novel (Bounty Hunter: Just Deserts) before they headed out on their expedition to Izanagi’s ocean because his editor would most likely not accept death or maiming as an excuse for not meeting his deadline.
“Next time, less obvious surroundings,” he muttered to himself as he struggled to find a new way to describe sand. “Tropics. A swamp…” He took a long swig of his sub-par coffee, ran a hand through his hair, and skipped ahead to start writing the encounter of his main character and a handsome young nomad on a desert planet.
"Are you talking to me?" Sanada asked as he stepped out of their small bathroom, using the towel around his shoulders to keep drying his hair with one hand while his grey sweats sunk a little lower on his hips. He could hear Oshitari's voice through the door but it was so quiet he wasn't sure if he was actually being talked to or if Oshitari was on his comms.
If Sanada were in a Murasaki Yu novel, Yuushi would have taken the time to describe the vision that was his roommate and his post shower appearance in great detail, perhaps from the point of view of someone following the tantalising journey of a drop of water from his damp hair and past the hollow of his throat and down to the abs that were the talk of the base, and to the sweatpants that could use some stronger elastic…
Of course, Sanada was not in a novel, and Yuushi was perfectly capable of human conversation. “I was talking to myself,” he said. “I trust I didn’t distract from your shower?”
Since Sanada sometimes mumbled to himself as he worked on something difficult he didn't think much on it. He knew his roommate was a science nerd or something so he was probably trying to figure out something important. "Not at all. I just worried you said something you wanted me to hear," Sanada said. Oshitari so far was quite a good roommate even if their hours didn't exactly align. But they both tried to be quiet while the other was sleeping and that's what mattered. That and Oshitari wasn't a slob.
Sanada gave his hair one last thorough two handed towel dry before hanging the towel up in the bathroom. "Mind if I do some stretches?" He would have preferred a full workout but time was a bit tight right now if he and Uion wanted the buggies ready for their mission.
Yuushi wondered how Sanada would react if he’d read out a passage from one of his books, one of the more… salacious ones, but that idle speculation was thrown out of his head the moment his roommate mentioned stretches.
“No, not at all, Sanada, do feel free,” he said, glad that he had spent a good deal of his youth cultivating a poker-face that did not reveal how merely the mental image of Sanada stretching made him want to faint like a Victorian maiden. “Are you sure you’ll have the space? We are somewhat cramped.” He felt accomplished in having said that with minimal innuendo.
“You’d be amazed at what you can do in a small space,” Sanada said. He had had to make do a lot on the trip here for three months and even when they were constructing the base there wasn’t a lot of space to properly work out. He was glad that he wouldn’t distract Oshitari from his whatever he was working on, probably something about sandworms, since he didn’t want to bother with the gym and dealing with others right now. The long shifts were hurting his routine and making him grumpier than usual but he still wasn’t willing to give up all forms of training.
Yuushi bit the inside of his cheek. “I think I’m more than prepared to find out,” he said, carefully training his eyes on his screen rather than Sanada's distractingly chiselled form. The last line he'd written was about the handsome nomad bathing in an oasis, his muscles glistening in the moonlight. Well damn.
Sanada nodded and knelt down to open one of the drawers under his bed and pulled out a rolled yoga mat and a couple of dumbbells. “If you ever want to work out in here, feel free to borrow anything in here,” Sanada said. A lot of the things inside were either painstakingly brought in his limited luggage allowance, put together on base, or requisition forms where he somehow got lucky. He knew how hard workout equipment could be to get and that sometimes the gym was too crowded or a bit of a hassle to go to. So it was no problem to share with his roommate.
Looking at the room, he unrolled the yoga mat so it was going across the room and into Oshitari’s designated side of the room. When he did his morning meditation he didn’t mind if there wasn’t as much room running along his bed, but the extra space would be good right now. Satisfied, he stretched out on the mat and adopted a simple plank position and tapped a five minute timer on his tablet. He found planks were a good way to fire up all of his muscles at the start of a workout.
Yuushi had gone through most of his adult life under the assumption that he was, to put it crudely, a 'leg man', as he had always appreciated the way shapely leg muscles accentuated the figure.
However, Yuushi had also gone through most of his adult life having never watched Sanada Genichirou in a plank position.
He cleared his throat, more to keep himself from sighing in appreciation than anything else. "That looks hard," he said, apropos of nothing.
“It can be at the start,” Sanada said easily enough as he’d only just begun. “You can time yourself to see how long you can go and then build up by ten or thirty seconds until you can hold it for however long you want. I usually go for five minutes.” He could go for longer but he liked to switch to push ups, crunches, squats and then to the dumbbells.
Five minutes, all right, Yuushi could be distracted for five minutes. He didn't have to watch Sanada's back muscles, or lower back muscles, or -
Well. Time to see what the nomad was going to do, and it would definitely be something not related to Yuushi's roommate's backside. Which was ridiculously well shaped.
"You overestimate my ability to exercise for more than ten seconds, Sanada," he said ruefully, while typing out the description of a killer sandstorm to distract himself.
“Some people find music motivates them. Or a workout buddy,” Sanada said. That was how he normally got Yanagi to work out. He’d invite him and then drag him to the gym to actually do it. As long as they did it together, his friend could actually get through a full work out just fine. When his tablet chimed the five minutes, he paused the timer and moved to his back to start with crunches.
"Mm, motivation comes from the most unusual sources," Yuushi commented. He finished the sandstorm - in a therapeutic way it helped him not turn into a babbling mess because of some muscles - and felt quite accomplished that he wasn't so much a slave to his baser instincts.
And now Sanada was doing crunches and the room was certainly several degrees warmer. The man had spectacular abs, the base was not wrong in gossiping about them. If Yuushi were a weaker man, he'd let out a whistle. He made do, instead, by returning to his romance. The nomad emerging from the oasis lake and exercising -
No. Feeding dates to the protagonist. Yes. "Do you often have… workout buddies?"
“Renji if I can talk him into it,” Sanada said. He got to 50 and allowed himself to relax in place for a moment as he turned his head to look toward Oshitari. “Lt. Commander Byodoin and I might do some training together after our mission.” It would be good to have someone to do kendo with even if they were at a low level. Though a weight training partner more consistent than Yangi could be good, too. He felt Byodoin was the type to hit the weights hard and often.
Breath caught, Sanada let his arms relax by his side, knees bent, as he lifted his hips into the air to give his glutes a light workout.
Yanagi either lived a very blessed or a very cursed life, Yuushi thought. He himself was clearly on the side of the latter. “Ah yes, Byodoin does seem like he’d be a good match for your proclivity for exercise…” He pulled up his document of drafts and made a note based on the very interesting image his mind brought up for Sanada and Byodoin’s… shared exercise sessions.
Perhaps the worst thing about Sanada exercising was not only did Yuushi have the pleasure of watching the man go about it, he also had the auditory input of his sharp breaths as he went through reps. Yuushi looked up just in time for Sanada’s sweatpants to stretch just so, giving him a very thorough impression of what lay beyond and -
“Are you excited for the mission?” he asked, only because his brain forced him to make a sentence using the word ‘excited’.
Sanada finished his reps of bridges with a slight grunt before letting himself relax on the mat again. All those long hours working in engineering to get ready for the mission were really taking a toll on his stamina. “Not really. And I don’t understand what my team is supposed to do with a diet guy and the feelings guy,” Sanada said. “You?”
The noise that Sanada made when he finished his current routine was obscene. Yuushi could write three pages of erotica based on that alone. The man was honestly impossible, and Yuushi wondered how he was to co-exist with him in this small space if he kept doing… that.
Fit of dramatics done with, he gathered himself. “I’m somewhat excited. The ocean should hold something interesting to explore. I feel as though my team might be somewhat more balanced than yours… Although we do have the filmmaker, whose safety is a concern.”
“Both teams are an odd mix. At least with Uion and I in each group, we’ll at least keep the transport functioning.” Sanada said as he stood up. He figured the presence of the sandworms and some other various signs of life were a good indication there would be something in the ocean but there was a chance it could be a dead sea.
He turned to face Oshitari as he started stretching out his back with his hands on his hips as he rotated around and leaned forward and back. “Are you optimistic of finding life in the ocean?” He wasn’t feeling very optimistic about how his team would do but they were bringing enough tech and gathering equipment that even if they didn’t understand it, the scientists back here should be able to figure it out.
Ah, yes, Uion, the man Yuushi had only recently discovered to be chicken-expert Niou in a not-that-clever disguise that still somehow worked. “Yes, wouldn’t want to be stranded in the desert so early into the mission,” he agreed.
Of course, now he was being treated to a front-row view of Sanadas pecs and the way he moved his waist and honestly he deserved an award for carrying on this conversation. “I am. Finding a viable route is our current mission, but hopefully we can dive in on a future one. To -” he had to make sure not to be too hypnotised by Sanada’s movements. “To unexplored depths,” he finished, somewhat vaguely.
“With our limited resources, a rescue mission could take way too long to be useful,” Sanada said in agreement. Really, as annoying as it was for both of them to be going on the mission at the same time, it did make sense to send a qualified engineer with each team. Though he certainly didn’t really understand the other choices. If Oshitari wasn’t going to be able to survey the actual ocean, what was the point? “I’m sure if you push your team a little, you can find the time to at least send some drones out or into the water to start investigating for plants and animals,” Sanada paused as he thought about exactly which sort of creatures might lurk in the vast ocean. “I hope there’s no oceanworm.” Sandworms were bad enough.
Trying not to think about the horrifying ocean creatures on Earth let alone what could be on this planet, he reached for his dumbbells to start with some bicep curls. The goal for tonight wasn’t to work up a sweat or an intense workout. He just wanted to keep himself sharp and relax a little before bed so he kept the weight fairly low at 10kg each.
The thing was, Yuushi thought Sanada was actually a perfectly good conversationalist. He was rather enjoying talking with him, even though it was probably killing him very slowly through dehydration. “We will have drones and such, and collecting sufficient water samples for analysis should give us an idea of what we’re dealing with, however a deeper study may need a future visit…”
Of course Sanada wasn’t done exercising. Of course he had to work out his biceps that were so, ugh, deliciously defined. The man really was an adonis, whether he knew it or not. “I’m rather hoping for edible marine life,” Yuushi told him. “I rather miss actual fish. I would certainly hate to learn that the planet is populated by varying kinds of worms,” he continued with a laugh that was, for the first time, not a cover for a less wholesome sound.
“Same. It would make things easier if we could live off of something on planet,” Sanada said. If they could send back some positive results about colonizing the planet, the UEA might give them more funding and life at the colony could be more comfortable. Thoughts like that helped to make these chaotic missions worth it. Well, if they could avoid being eaten by sandworms. They could be killed or outrun but both could be difficult. “How is the sandworm research going?”
“Yes, and Tachibana might have something more substantial to do as well,” Yuushi agreed. Thinking about his research was a good way of not looking at the way Sanada’s hands were gripping the dumbbells.
“We got some fresh samples thanks to Byodoin and his feral subordinate,” Yuushi said. “I’m hoping to neutralise the hallucinogens so we could consider it a viable food source. It’s all terribly dull, honestly. Or perhaps it’s not the work that’s dull but that we’re so… hard pressed for entertainment on base…” Admittedly, watching his roommate work out every day was entertaining in itself, if utterly frustrating.
“It’s good you got more sandworm to analyze. I’m not eager to eat them but if it’s safe, I’ll try it.” It would probably rank as one of the stranger things he’s eaten but maybe the strangeness was just because it was so new and unknown. “And if you’re bored, see if the happiness guy can plan some events,” Sanada suggested. He supposed he should try to remember to call the guy by his name since they’d be working together in close quarters for two weeks but he found the whole role stupid so wasn’t in any rush to care about him. He’d make sure he survived but he was in no rush to bond.
Letting out a sigh as he once again thought about his strange team, Sanada shifted his stance and brought his arms over his head to start doing overhead extensions. His pants slid a little lower, revealing more of the light treasure trail disappearing into the waistband of his pants.
“The happiness guy…” Yuushi took a moment to understand that of course Sanada was referring to their morale officer. “Perhaps Ohtori would put the hallucinogens in the worm flesh to good use. Could raise happiness, in a sense,” he said wryly. The idea of Sanada and Ohtori out on a mission together was more amusing than he’d expected.
And suddenly nothing was amusing at all.
Oshitari Yuushi was a grown man. A grown man with plenty of sexual experience and not a character in one of his novels who lost his mind at the sight of a… happy trail. Yet here he was, fighting insanity because his every instinct was demanding to know why he was still looking at his computer screen and not - well - treasure hunting.
“It would be entertaining to see Renji high on sandworms. I’m sure he has some good secrets to share,” Sanada said. Yanagi always knew far too much about everyone and Sanada was sure he had some funny stories to share about people. After a few more extensions he let his arms relax down at his sides and wondered if lunges might be pushing it. He wanted to exercise to stay sharp and wind down, he didn’t want to push himself too much. And it was probably rude to distract Oshitari too much while he was working.
The idea of his favourite comms companion in a state of sandworm induced high was actually quite amusing. “We should definitely consider it as a possible form of recreation,” he said. Maybe he should find a way to use it to take the edge off while Sanada worked out in their room.
He decided that maybe considering a life dependent on drugs was a sign that he was certainly losing his mind, but thankfully, it appeared that Sanada was finally… winding down. “Oh, are you done for the night?” he asked, unsure of whether he was disappointed or relieved.
“Less fun if he starts spilling my secrets though,” Sanada said as he realized just how many horrible things about himself that Yanagi could easily let slip. Maybe letting his friend get high on sandworm drugs and talking too much was actually a bad idea. “And I think this is enough for tonight. It’s been a long day and tomorrow will probably be longer.” He took the couple steps over to his bed and bent over to put his dumbbells away.
Yuushi raised an eyebrow. “Are you a man with many secrets, Sanada? And here I thought you were far too straight forward.” The man didn’t seem to understand innuendo, in his experience, but maybe Sanada had hidden depths after all.
Or, he thought, as Sanada bent to replace his dumbbells, maybe this whole thing was an elaborate ruse and his roommate was aware of what he was doing. He dismissed the absurd idea almost at once. “Yes, I think you should probably… lie down.” Preferably covered by a blanket so Yuushi didn’t have to see any more of that ridiculously perfect body.
Dumbbells stowed, Sanada rolled up his yoga mat, not bothering to clean it this time since it was barely used, and also stowed it away. He looked over at Oshitari as he idly tugged up his sweats a little. “Doesn’t everyone have things they don’t want others to know?” Sanada asked. He didn’t think he had any sort of secret that would topple his career but certainly some that would make him blush if others heard them. He doubted anyone had avoided those sorts of secrets.
Yuushi couldn’t quite hold back his little amused smirk. “Oh, certainly,” he agreed, thinking of at least three different things that Sanada was better off not knowing and only one of those things was the fact that he was a fairly well known romance novelist. In fact, it would probably not please Sanada to know that he had single handedly inspired a character (or four) in various books. “Yanagi must have some very interesting stories to tell,” he added, teasing now that he wasn’t being assaulted by rippling muscles as badly.
“And I have ones about him. We have a mutually assured destruction pact.” Though Sanada doubted it would hold up under the influence of narcotics or too much alcohol. So it would be best to keep a close eye on Yanagi if he ever did get into the sandworms. “Do you have any close friends on base?” He asked. He then went to his small assigned closet and dug out a black t-shirt to toss on.
“That sounds perfectly reasonable,” Yuushi remarked. He considered Sanada’s question. Well he did have one very good friend, although not even he knew about Murasaki Yu. “Atobe,” he said. “We’ve known each other for years, although we haven’t spent as long in close quarters as you and Yanagi… More of a, hmm, long distance friendship, you might say.” Although they did meet up at the odd outpost to gripe about some new thing or the other. Ah, Sanada was putting on a shirt (which was unusual for the man if he was just going to bed), perhaps Yuushi’s mind could finally attain some kind of peace.
“Renji’s more family than friend at this point but even a long distance friend is a friend,” Sanada said. With humans spread across the galaxy, it was common enough to not see friends or even family for months or even years at a time. “I had my check-up with him. He seems a little arrogant but he was thorough and got the job done.” Which was honestly more than Sanada was expecting considering everyone knew of the Atobe name and had suspicions on how exactly Atobe had gotten his rank and posting. Maybe he’d even learn to call him sir without wanting to choke on the word.
“Atobe is… well,” Yuushi chuckled fondly. “He takes getting used to, I suppose.” It wasn’t the first time he’d heard his friend described so, and he was sure it wouldn’t be the last. “But he’s brilliant, for all his airs, and he usually knows what he’s doing. Unfortunately, he also has the worst bedside manner in the known universe,” he added. “I’m glad your encounter went without any threats of bodily harm.” He had already seen at least three other people on the message boards sound less charitable towards his friend.
“I did notice he’s a bit rough but it wasn’t so bad,” Sanada said. He’d dealt with enough military doctors since signing up as an officer to be used to a brusque doctor who just wanted to get through an exam quickly and without any delays. Really, that was the way Sanada preferred it. He didn’t feel the need to chit chat when someone was doing a scan or drawing blood.
“Then he’s clearly gotten better at it with time.” Or maybe he was intimidated by Sanada’s abs, he added to himself. For not the first time, he was grateful he hadn’t chosen medicine as his field of study. “Perhaps he likes you,” Yuushi observed, teasing again because he didn’t think that would stop Atobe from being brusque.
“If he liked me, it’s because I did what he asked and didn’t whine about it,” Sanada said. He ran his fingers through his hair, feeling weird not wearing a cap. But it was hard to justify one when he was inside and wasn’t working. “I was thinking of grabbing something to drink. Did you want anything?” He wasn’t sure if he wanted to risk the tea if all they had were the algae type but he did want something more than water.
And that was that straightforward part of Sanada that Yuushi couldn’t help but find fascinating. He realised the reason for the shirt was because the man was heading out - which meant there would be shirtlessness to come on his return. Well, it wasn’t like Yuushi was planning to sleep anyway. “Coffee,” he said, with a somewhat resigned sigh. “I’d greatly appreciate it… I have a long night ahead and not in the way I’d usually prefer.”
“Understood.” Sanada gave a nod, made sure he had everything he needed and headed out. He’d make sure to get Oshitari a large cup of coffee and see if there were any decent looking snacks around. It would be unwise to consume too much caffeine on an empty stomach and while it was admirable for Oshitari to put in long hours to finish all of his work before their mission, it was important to stay healthy as well. He would make sure to be extra quiet in the morning if the other was still sleeping when he woke up.
Yuushi watched him go and let his head fall back against the wall behind him with a dull thud. That had possibly been the most difficult night he’d spent on this base so far, and he lived on a planet with an active sandworm threat. He picked up his writing again, scrolling through pages of plot and erotic encounters. There was possibly one good thing that came from the way he’d spent his evening - his imagination alone was sufficient to construct several books worth of the steamiest of scenarios. Thank you for your services, Sanada.
When: One night, just before the missions
Where: B2-04, their shared room
What: Sanada does some light nighttime stretches. Yuushi's sanity is also stretched.
Oshitari Yuushi was a man on a mission. Well, one besides the colonising and base-building mission they collectively had, of course. He had to finish the last few thousand words of his current novel (Bounty Hunter: Just Deserts) before they headed out on their expedition to Izanagi’s ocean because his editor would most likely not accept death or maiming as an excuse for not meeting his deadline.
“Next time, less obvious surroundings,” he muttered to himself as he struggled to find a new way to describe sand. “Tropics. A swamp…” He took a long swig of his sub-par coffee, ran a hand through his hair, and skipped ahead to start writing the encounter of his main character and a handsome young nomad on a desert planet.
"Are you talking to me?" Sanada asked as he stepped out of their small bathroom, using the towel around his shoulders to keep drying his hair with one hand while his grey sweats sunk a little lower on his hips. He could hear Oshitari's voice through the door but it was so quiet he wasn't sure if he was actually being talked to or if Oshitari was on his comms.
If Sanada were in a Murasaki Yu novel, Yuushi would have taken the time to describe the vision that was his roommate and his post shower appearance in great detail, perhaps from the point of view of someone following the tantalising journey of a drop of water from his damp hair and past the hollow of his throat and down to the abs that were the talk of the base, and to the sweatpants that could use some stronger elastic…
Of course, Sanada was not in a novel, and Yuushi was perfectly capable of human conversation. “I was talking to myself,” he said. “I trust I didn’t distract from your shower?”
Since Sanada sometimes mumbled to himself as he worked on something difficult he didn't think much on it. He knew his roommate was a science nerd or something so he was probably trying to figure out something important. "Not at all. I just worried you said something you wanted me to hear," Sanada said. Oshitari so far was quite a good roommate even if their hours didn't exactly align. But they both tried to be quiet while the other was sleeping and that's what mattered. That and Oshitari wasn't a slob.
Sanada gave his hair one last thorough two handed towel dry before hanging the towel up in the bathroom. "Mind if I do some stretches?" He would have preferred a full workout but time was a bit tight right now if he and Uion wanted the buggies ready for their mission.
Yuushi wondered how Sanada would react if he’d read out a passage from one of his books, one of the more… salacious ones, but that idle speculation was thrown out of his head the moment his roommate mentioned stretches.
“No, not at all, Sanada, do feel free,” he said, glad that he had spent a good deal of his youth cultivating a poker-face that did not reveal how merely the mental image of Sanada stretching made him want to faint like a Victorian maiden. “Are you sure you’ll have the space? We are somewhat cramped.” He felt accomplished in having said that with minimal innuendo.
“You’d be amazed at what you can do in a small space,” Sanada said. He had had to make do a lot on the trip here for three months and even when they were constructing the base there wasn’t a lot of space to properly work out. He was glad that he wouldn’t distract Oshitari from his whatever he was working on, probably something about sandworms, since he didn’t want to bother with the gym and dealing with others right now. The long shifts were hurting his routine and making him grumpier than usual but he still wasn’t willing to give up all forms of training.
Yuushi bit the inside of his cheek. “I think I’m more than prepared to find out,” he said, carefully training his eyes on his screen rather than Sanada's distractingly chiselled form. The last line he'd written was about the handsome nomad bathing in an oasis, his muscles glistening in the moonlight. Well damn.
Sanada nodded and knelt down to open one of the drawers under his bed and pulled out a rolled yoga mat and a couple of dumbbells. “If you ever want to work out in here, feel free to borrow anything in here,” Sanada said. A lot of the things inside were either painstakingly brought in his limited luggage allowance, put together on base, or requisition forms where he somehow got lucky. He knew how hard workout equipment could be to get and that sometimes the gym was too crowded or a bit of a hassle to go to. So it was no problem to share with his roommate.
Looking at the room, he unrolled the yoga mat so it was going across the room and into Oshitari’s designated side of the room. When he did his morning meditation he didn’t mind if there wasn’t as much room running along his bed, but the extra space would be good right now. Satisfied, he stretched out on the mat and adopted a simple plank position and tapped a five minute timer on his tablet. He found planks were a good way to fire up all of his muscles at the start of a workout.
Yuushi had gone through most of his adult life under the assumption that he was, to put it crudely, a 'leg man', as he had always appreciated the way shapely leg muscles accentuated the figure.
However, Yuushi had also gone through most of his adult life having never watched Sanada Genichirou in a plank position.
He cleared his throat, more to keep himself from sighing in appreciation than anything else. "That looks hard," he said, apropos of nothing.
“It can be at the start,” Sanada said easily enough as he’d only just begun. “You can time yourself to see how long you can go and then build up by ten or thirty seconds until you can hold it for however long you want. I usually go for five minutes.” He could go for longer but he liked to switch to push ups, crunches, squats and then to the dumbbells.
Five minutes, all right, Yuushi could be distracted for five minutes. He didn't have to watch Sanada's back muscles, or lower back muscles, or -
Well. Time to see what the nomad was going to do, and it would definitely be something not related to Yuushi's roommate's backside. Which was ridiculously well shaped.
"You overestimate my ability to exercise for more than ten seconds, Sanada," he said ruefully, while typing out the description of a killer sandstorm to distract himself.
“Some people find music motivates them. Or a workout buddy,” Sanada said. That was how he normally got Yanagi to work out. He’d invite him and then drag him to the gym to actually do it. As long as they did it together, his friend could actually get through a full work out just fine. When his tablet chimed the five minutes, he paused the timer and moved to his back to start with crunches.
"Mm, motivation comes from the most unusual sources," Yuushi commented. He finished the sandstorm - in a therapeutic way it helped him not turn into a babbling mess because of some muscles - and felt quite accomplished that he wasn't so much a slave to his baser instincts.
And now Sanada was doing crunches and the room was certainly several degrees warmer. The man had spectacular abs, the base was not wrong in gossiping about them. If Yuushi were a weaker man, he'd let out a whistle. He made do, instead, by returning to his romance. The nomad emerging from the oasis lake and exercising -
No. Feeding dates to the protagonist. Yes. "Do you often have… workout buddies?"
“Renji if I can talk him into it,” Sanada said. He got to 50 and allowed himself to relax in place for a moment as he turned his head to look toward Oshitari. “Lt. Commander Byodoin and I might do some training together after our mission.” It would be good to have someone to do kendo with even if they were at a low level. Though a weight training partner more consistent than Yangi could be good, too. He felt Byodoin was the type to hit the weights hard and often.
Breath caught, Sanada let his arms relax by his side, knees bent, as he lifted his hips into the air to give his glutes a light workout.
Yanagi either lived a very blessed or a very cursed life, Yuushi thought. He himself was clearly on the side of the latter. “Ah yes, Byodoin does seem like he’d be a good match for your proclivity for exercise…” He pulled up his document of drafts and made a note based on the very interesting image his mind brought up for Sanada and Byodoin’s… shared exercise sessions.
Perhaps the worst thing about Sanada exercising was not only did Yuushi have the pleasure of watching the man go about it, he also had the auditory input of his sharp breaths as he went through reps. Yuushi looked up just in time for Sanada’s sweatpants to stretch just so, giving him a very thorough impression of what lay beyond and -
“Are you excited for the mission?” he asked, only because his brain forced him to make a sentence using the word ‘excited’.
Sanada finished his reps of bridges with a slight grunt before letting himself relax on the mat again. All those long hours working in engineering to get ready for the mission were really taking a toll on his stamina. “Not really. And I don’t understand what my team is supposed to do with a diet guy and the feelings guy,” Sanada said. “You?”
The noise that Sanada made when he finished his current routine was obscene. Yuushi could write three pages of erotica based on that alone. The man was honestly impossible, and Yuushi wondered how he was to co-exist with him in this small space if he kept doing… that.
Fit of dramatics done with, he gathered himself. “I’m somewhat excited. The ocean should hold something interesting to explore. I feel as though my team might be somewhat more balanced than yours… Although we do have the filmmaker, whose safety is a concern.”
“Both teams are an odd mix. At least with Uion and I in each group, we’ll at least keep the transport functioning.” Sanada said as he stood up. He figured the presence of the sandworms and some other various signs of life were a good indication there would be something in the ocean but there was a chance it could be a dead sea.
He turned to face Oshitari as he started stretching out his back with his hands on his hips as he rotated around and leaned forward and back. “Are you optimistic of finding life in the ocean?” He wasn’t feeling very optimistic about how his team would do but they were bringing enough tech and gathering equipment that even if they didn’t understand it, the scientists back here should be able to figure it out.
Ah, yes, Uion, the man Yuushi had only recently discovered to be chicken-expert Niou in a not-that-clever disguise that still somehow worked. “Yes, wouldn’t want to be stranded in the desert so early into the mission,” he agreed.
Of course, now he was being treated to a front-row view of Sanadas pecs and the way he moved his waist and honestly he deserved an award for carrying on this conversation. “I am. Finding a viable route is our current mission, but hopefully we can dive in on a future one. To -” he had to make sure not to be too hypnotised by Sanada’s movements. “To unexplored depths,” he finished, somewhat vaguely.
“With our limited resources, a rescue mission could take way too long to be useful,” Sanada said in agreement. Really, as annoying as it was for both of them to be going on the mission at the same time, it did make sense to send a qualified engineer with each team. Though he certainly didn’t really understand the other choices. If Oshitari wasn’t going to be able to survey the actual ocean, what was the point? “I’m sure if you push your team a little, you can find the time to at least send some drones out or into the water to start investigating for plants and animals,” Sanada paused as he thought about exactly which sort of creatures might lurk in the vast ocean. “I hope there’s no oceanworm.” Sandworms were bad enough.
Trying not to think about the horrifying ocean creatures on Earth let alone what could be on this planet, he reached for his dumbbells to start with some bicep curls. The goal for tonight wasn’t to work up a sweat or an intense workout. He just wanted to keep himself sharp and relax a little before bed so he kept the weight fairly low at 10kg each.
The thing was, Yuushi thought Sanada was actually a perfectly good conversationalist. He was rather enjoying talking with him, even though it was probably killing him very slowly through dehydration. “We will have drones and such, and collecting sufficient water samples for analysis should give us an idea of what we’re dealing with, however a deeper study may need a future visit…”
Of course Sanada wasn’t done exercising. Of course he had to work out his biceps that were so, ugh, deliciously defined. The man really was an adonis, whether he knew it or not. “I’m rather hoping for edible marine life,” Yuushi told him. “I rather miss actual fish. I would certainly hate to learn that the planet is populated by varying kinds of worms,” he continued with a laugh that was, for the first time, not a cover for a less wholesome sound.
“Same. It would make things easier if we could live off of something on planet,” Sanada said. If they could send back some positive results about colonizing the planet, the UEA might give them more funding and life at the colony could be more comfortable. Thoughts like that helped to make these chaotic missions worth it. Well, if they could avoid being eaten by sandworms. They could be killed or outrun but both could be difficult. “How is the sandworm research going?”
“Yes, and Tachibana might have something more substantial to do as well,” Yuushi agreed. Thinking about his research was a good way of not looking at the way Sanada’s hands were gripping the dumbbells.
“We got some fresh samples thanks to Byodoin and his feral subordinate,” Yuushi said. “I’m hoping to neutralise the hallucinogens so we could consider it a viable food source. It’s all terribly dull, honestly. Or perhaps it’s not the work that’s dull but that we’re so… hard pressed for entertainment on base…” Admittedly, watching his roommate work out every day was entertaining in itself, if utterly frustrating.
“It’s good you got more sandworm to analyze. I’m not eager to eat them but if it’s safe, I’ll try it.” It would probably rank as one of the stranger things he’s eaten but maybe the strangeness was just because it was so new and unknown. “And if you’re bored, see if the happiness guy can plan some events,” Sanada suggested. He supposed he should try to remember to call the guy by his name since they’d be working together in close quarters for two weeks but he found the whole role stupid so wasn’t in any rush to care about him. He’d make sure he survived but he was in no rush to bond.
Letting out a sigh as he once again thought about his strange team, Sanada shifted his stance and brought his arms over his head to start doing overhead extensions. His pants slid a little lower, revealing more of the light treasure trail disappearing into the waistband of his pants.
“The happiness guy…” Yuushi took a moment to understand that of course Sanada was referring to their morale officer. “Perhaps Ohtori would put the hallucinogens in the worm flesh to good use. Could raise happiness, in a sense,” he said wryly. The idea of Sanada and Ohtori out on a mission together was more amusing than he’d expected.
And suddenly nothing was amusing at all.
Oshitari Yuushi was a grown man. A grown man with plenty of sexual experience and not a character in one of his novels who lost his mind at the sight of a… happy trail. Yet here he was, fighting insanity because his every instinct was demanding to know why he was still looking at his computer screen and not - well - treasure hunting.
“It would be entertaining to see Renji high on sandworms. I’m sure he has some good secrets to share,” Sanada said. Yanagi always knew far too much about everyone and Sanada was sure he had some funny stories to share about people. After a few more extensions he let his arms relax down at his sides and wondered if lunges might be pushing it. He wanted to exercise to stay sharp and wind down, he didn’t want to push himself too much. And it was probably rude to distract Oshitari too much while he was working.
The idea of his favourite comms companion in a state of sandworm induced high was actually quite amusing. “We should definitely consider it as a possible form of recreation,” he said. Maybe he should find a way to use it to take the edge off while Sanada worked out in their room.
He decided that maybe considering a life dependent on drugs was a sign that he was certainly losing his mind, but thankfully, it appeared that Sanada was finally… winding down. “Oh, are you done for the night?” he asked, unsure of whether he was disappointed or relieved.
“Less fun if he starts spilling my secrets though,” Sanada said as he realized just how many horrible things about himself that Yanagi could easily let slip. Maybe letting his friend get high on sandworm drugs and talking too much was actually a bad idea. “And I think this is enough for tonight. It’s been a long day and tomorrow will probably be longer.” He took the couple steps over to his bed and bent over to put his dumbbells away.
Yuushi raised an eyebrow. “Are you a man with many secrets, Sanada? And here I thought you were far too straight forward.” The man didn’t seem to understand innuendo, in his experience, but maybe Sanada had hidden depths after all.
Or, he thought, as Sanada bent to replace his dumbbells, maybe this whole thing was an elaborate ruse and his roommate was aware of what he was doing. He dismissed the absurd idea almost at once. “Yes, I think you should probably… lie down.” Preferably covered by a blanket so Yuushi didn’t have to see any more of that ridiculously perfect body.
Dumbbells stowed, Sanada rolled up his yoga mat, not bothering to clean it this time since it was barely used, and also stowed it away. He looked over at Oshitari as he idly tugged up his sweats a little. “Doesn’t everyone have things they don’t want others to know?” Sanada asked. He didn’t think he had any sort of secret that would topple his career but certainly some that would make him blush if others heard them. He doubted anyone had avoided those sorts of secrets.
Yuushi couldn’t quite hold back his little amused smirk. “Oh, certainly,” he agreed, thinking of at least three different things that Sanada was better off not knowing and only one of those things was the fact that he was a fairly well known romance novelist. In fact, it would probably not please Sanada to know that he had single handedly inspired a character (or four) in various books. “Yanagi must have some very interesting stories to tell,” he added, teasing now that he wasn’t being assaulted by rippling muscles as badly.
“And I have ones about him. We have a mutually assured destruction pact.” Though Sanada doubted it would hold up under the influence of narcotics or too much alcohol. So it would be best to keep a close eye on Yanagi if he ever did get into the sandworms. “Do you have any close friends on base?” He asked. He then went to his small assigned closet and dug out a black t-shirt to toss on.
“That sounds perfectly reasonable,” Yuushi remarked. He considered Sanada’s question. Well he did have one very good friend, although not even he knew about Murasaki Yu. “Atobe,” he said. “We’ve known each other for years, although we haven’t spent as long in close quarters as you and Yanagi… More of a, hmm, long distance friendship, you might say.” Although they did meet up at the odd outpost to gripe about some new thing or the other. Ah, Sanada was putting on a shirt (which was unusual for the man if he was just going to bed), perhaps Yuushi’s mind could finally attain some kind of peace.
“Renji’s more family than friend at this point but even a long distance friend is a friend,” Sanada said. With humans spread across the galaxy, it was common enough to not see friends or even family for months or even years at a time. “I had my check-up with him. He seems a little arrogant but he was thorough and got the job done.” Which was honestly more than Sanada was expecting considering everyone knew of the Atobe name and had suspicions on how exactly Atobe had gotten his rank and posting. Maybe he’d even learn to call him sir without wanting to choke on the word.
“Atobe is… well,” Yuushi chuckled fondly. “He takes getting used to, I suppose.” It wasn’t the first time he’d heard his friend described so, and he was sure it wouldn’t be the last. “But he’s brilliant, for all his airs, and he usually knows what he’s doing. Unfortunately, he also has the worst bedside manner in the known universe,” he added. “I’m glad your encounter went without any threats of bodily harm.” He had already seen at least three other people on the message boards sound less charitable towards his friend.
“I did notice he’s a bit rough but it wasn’t so bad,” Sanada said. He’d dealt with enough military doctors since signing up as an officer to be used to a brusque doctor who just wanted to get through an exam quickly and without any delays. Really, that was the way Sanada preferred it. He didn’t feel the need to chit chat when someone was doing a scan or drawing blood.
“Then he’s clearly gotten better at it with time.” Or maybe he was intimidated by Sanada’s abs, he added to himself. For not the first time, he was grateful he hadn’t chosen medicine as his field of study. “Perhaps he likes you,” Yuushi observed, teasing again because he didn’t think that would stop Atobe from being brusque.
“If he liked me, it’s because I did what he asked and didn’t whine about it,” Sanada said. He ran his fingers through his hair, feeling weird not wearing a cap. But it was hard to justify one when he was inside and wasn’t working. “I was thinking of grabbing something to drink. Did you want anything?” He wasn’t sure if he wanted to risk the tea if all they had were the algae type but he did want something more than water.
And that was that straightforward part of Sanada that Yuushi couldn’t help but find fascinating. He realised the reason for the shirt was because the man was heading out - which meant there would be shirtlessness to come on his return. Well, it wasn’t like Yuushi was planning to sleep anyway. “Coffee,” he said, with a somewhat resigned sigh. “I’d greatly appreciate it… I have a long night ahead and not in the way I’d usually prefer.”
“Understood.” Sanada gave a nod, made sure he had everything he needed and headed out. He’d make sure to get Oshitari a large cup of coffee and see if there were any decent looking snacks around. It would be unwise to consume too much caffeine on an empty stomach and while it was admirable for Oshitari to put in long hours to finish all of his work before their mission, it was important to stay healthy as well. He would make sure to be extra quiet in the morning if the other was still sleeping when he woke up.
Yuushi watched him go and let his head fall back against the wall behind him with a dull thud. That had possibly been the most difficult night he’d spent on this base so far, and he lived on a planet with an active sandworm threat. He picked up his writing again, scrolling through pages of plot and erotic encounters. There was possibly one good thing that came from the way he’d spent his evening - his imagination alone was sufficient to construct several books worth of the steamiest of scenarios. Thank you for your services, Sanada.
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